Method of and means for forming and delivering charges of fictile material



July 3, 1928. 1,675,906

A. A. OEFFNER IETHOD OF AND MEANS FOR FORMING AND DELIVERING CHARGES OF FIC'IILE MATERIAL Filed Dec. 27, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet, 1

0 ft Z" ya Jul 3, 1928. 1,675,906

A. A. O EFFNER METHOD AND MEANS FOR FORMING AND DELIVERING CHARGES 0F FICTILE MATERIAL Filed De c. 27, 1926 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Patented July 3, 1928.

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RBI-RAM A; OEFFNE'R, oar-Korma" Union; eWNsYLvANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE HAR- BISON-WALKER COMPAI mammal-on or rsmisynveum.

EITTSBURGH} PENNSYLVANIA, A

METI-IUD AND IVI EANS FOR FORMING AND- DELIVERING CHARGES OF FICTILE MATERIAL:

Application filed-December 27, 1926; Seria1-N0. 157-,224.

This invention relates to'the molding of shapes from fietile material in accordance with that mode of procedure in which the charge of materialis permitted to fall freely 5 from a height into an open-topped mold box, such a process and. machinery for performing it being. disclosed, for exan1ple,,in patents to Charles L. Norton, No.'1,332,677, dated lilarch 2,1920; No. 1,426,761, dated 10 August22, 1-922; and No. 1,52%,877, dated February; 3,1925, and relates more particularly to improvements in a method of and means for form'ingand delivering the charge.

As herein illustratedthe' present improve- 5 Incnts are shown as applied to amoldingna chine of the type disclosedin Fig; 18 of the aforesaid Norton Patent No. 1,524,877, but itnisto'be understood that the present invention is of broad utility and not necessarily 2O restricted to this. particular environment.

In the last mentioned patent to Norton, as well in' other patents granted tothe same inventor, the'diflicultyencountered in molding shapes from certain materials; such for example as ground ganist'erused in making refractorybriclz, have been point-ed out, and apractical method of and apparatus handling such material hasbeen fully disclosed. Oneessential characteristic of this Norton method of molding consists in pro iccting, as by dropping, the material into the moldin the form of a substantially unconfined dense swarm of discrete particles in quantity sutficient to fill the mold to overflowing.

In the Norton patents no particular stress is laid upon the mode of collecting the cha inthe hopper from which it is dropped into the mold, but it has now beendis covered that improved results may be oh tained by first dropping the material. as for example from a bucket conveyor or the like. through a substantial distance into the closed hopper. and subsequently releasing this charge from the hopper and permittingit to fall freely into themold. I

It has been observed that by this procedureit is possible to obtain shapes ofhigh quality and to carry out the process at increased s eed, but we are unable wholly to explain this phenomenon, although it is probable that the long, drop of the charge into the hopper compacts it and makes it more homogeneous so that when subsequently dropped into the mold it does not break up into independent bodies but forms a single swarm oi particles which fills the molds uniformly and produces a molded siape devoid of cleavage planes.

sl haterer the exact cause of the-improved resultthus obtained, the long drop of the heavy charge into the closed hopper introduces certain problems" which are not met with, when as has been usual, the charge onters the hopper from an insubstantial height. Thus, when the charge falls from a considerable height into the hopper the employment of a hopper gate held closed by springs, well as pivotally supported gates o'f usual type, becomes impractical, due first to the heavy impact to which such gates are sub jected, and second, because at the greater speed of operation, made permissible by the new procedure, suchgates do not open and close quickly enough.

lnv accordance with the present invention the charge is dropped from a substantial height into the hoppeix. the la-tterhaving gates of rigid and substantial construction quite capable of withstanding the blows to which they are subjected, and power. actuated means is provided for opening the gates positively at much higher speed than can be done by hand'orby the use of mechanisms heretofore employed.

In the accompanying:- drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation. partly in sectiong-showing the present improvements as applied to a-molding machine of the type disclosed in 18 of the aforesaid Patent No. 1,524,877 to-Norton;

2. is a. fragmentary end elevation, partly in section, of the upper part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 and Fig; 3 is a verticalsection to larger scale, substantially on the line 3- 3 of Fig.2.

Referring to thedrawings the numeral 1 designates generally the position of the mold supportinganvil of; a machine such as shown in; of the aforesaid Patent No. 1,524,- 877 to Norton. One of the mold boxes is indicatedat 2, such mold boxlbeing mounted ill i aforesaid Norton patent, but is is to be un- Eli 'tion' of the gates. -with the means for supporting and opera-tde-rstood that the present improvements are applicable to molding machines of other types wherein it is desirable to drop the charge from a height into the mold.

' The various operative parts comprised in the present improvements are suitably sup ported by vmeans of a frame comprising members 5, 6, 7,8, 9, etc., which conveniently maybe made from commercial structural shapes, such as angle irons, channel bars, and

the like, and this frame may be varied in its structural details in accordance with the location and the type of machine to which the present specific improvements are applied. 1

herein shown a vertically elongate hopper 'is" suitably supported by the framework at a point vertically above the mold supporting anvil. This hopper is preferably rectangular in horizontal cross section,- com'prising the fixed side walls 11 which are preferably substantially vertical and which are provided at their upper ends with flaring extensions 12 which guide the material as it is dropped into the hopper.

The material maybe supplied tothe upper end of the'hopper in any desired manner as, for example,by means of the bucket conveyor herein illustrated,'and which comprises a series of buckets 13' carried by the chain 14 driven'by means of a sprocket15 which is rotated continuously from any suitable source of power.

The lower end of the hopperlO is normally closed by means of a pair of sliding bottom members or gates 16 and 17. The two bottom members" or gates 16 and 17 are inclined downwardly andinwardly, normally meeting substantially at the point 20 (Fig. 1), and the side walls of the hopper 10 are beveled at 21 to correspond to the inclina- As each of these gates ing it is substantially like the other, it is sufficient herein to describe in detail the gate 16 and its operating mechanism, particular reference being had to Figs. 2 and 3.

The gate 16 comprises a fiat plate 18 provided at its opposite lateral edges with angle bars 19 which stiffen and support it.

,As shown in Fig. 3, the angle bars 19 rest upon the guide roller 22, preferably provided with retaining flanges 23 (Fig. 1). This guide roller is positioned wholly to one side of the hopper 10 so that it is out'of the path of the charge when the latter is rement by the angle bars 19, and a second guide roller 25 is disposed-above the bottom member, the plate 18 preferably being slotted to permit the roller 25 to engage the upper edges of the angle bars 19. The roller 25 tends to hold the rear end of the gate firmly down against the guide 24 and to resist the shock of impact of the mold charge when the latter drops onto the lower end of the closed gate.

Parallel rods 26 and 28'are rigidly connected at their lower ends to a flange 27 provided at the rear edge of the plate 18. These rods 26 and 28 thus in effect constitute a rigid continuation of the bottom memher. At their outer ends the rods 26 and 28 are rigidly connected; to the yoke 29 which in turn is rigidly secured at its center to a piston rod 30. This piston rod is guided in a stufiing box 30 at the outer end of a cylinder 32. The inner end of the piston rod carries the piston 31 which slides in the cylinder, the path of movement of the piston being parallel to the plane of movement of the bottom member 16.

A fluid supply pipe 33 (Fig. 1) leads to the bottom of the cylinder 32 and a corresponding supply pipe 34 leads to the lower end of the opposite cylinder 32 which actuates the gate 17. The pipes 33 and 34 are connected to a pipe 35 which extends upwardly to a valve housing 36. This valve housing contains a valve-of any suitable construction, notherein shown in detail, which is controlled by a rod 37 (Fig. 1) connected to a rock arm 38 actuated by a cam 39 upon the shaft which carries the sprocket 15.

For the proper delivery of the mold charge into the mold boxes it has been found that a distance of the order of 12 feet between the bottom of the hopper and the mold box is sufficient. In accordance with the present invention it is preferred to make the distance between the bottom of the hopper and the point at which the charge is dropped from the conveyor equal to approximately one-half the distance between the hopper bottom and the mold box, that is to p ay, in the present case of the order of 6 eet.

While' certain desirable dimensions have been indicated it is to be understood that these are notin any sense limiting, as it is contemplated that greater or lesser distances may be found desirable in working with certain materials. I

In the operation of the apparatus thus described, the empty mold box is placed upon the anvil and when the conveyor has delivered a sufiicient quantity'of material into llil the hopper to constitute a charge, the'cam'39 actuates the valve in the housing 36 to ad mit air or other fluid under pressure simultaneously to the lower ends of the two cylinders. The gates '16 and 17 are thus in stantaneously retracted-y permitting the charge to tail .ttireely and without obst action into the mold box. Immediately alter the charge has fallen, the valve in tllx, rah housing 36 actuated to permit the .air to exhaust from the cylinders, whereupon the weight oil "the parts immediately closes t hopper so that it is ready to receive a turt-her charge of material.

While compressed air is desirable as a means for actuating the pistons in the cyl ind'ers, it is contemplated that other fluids, for. example, steampmay be employed and more broadly tlaiat other means than the pressure cylinders may be used tor moving the tes herein disclosed.

I claim:

1. That method of moldine' shapes from fi'ctile material which comprises as steps dropping a charge of the material from such a height into a vessel as to compact the charge, and releasing the entire compacted char 'e from the vessel and permittin it to fall as a dense swarm of discrete par into a mold.

2. That method of molding shapes from ground ga-nister which comprises as steps dropping charge of the in'iaterial from a substantial height onto a normally fixed supportso as to compact the charge, and suddenly removing said support and permitting the entire compacted charge to fall a dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold, the length of fall of the charge onto said support being substantially of the order c'tone half of the length of its fall from the support into the mold.

Apparatus oft-he class described comprising a hopper, means for dropping a charge of material from a substantial hei ht onto the bottom or the hopper means ior supporting a mold vertically below the hop per at such a distance that a charge tailing from the hopper will acquire sufiicient momentum to cause it completely to fill the mold, and means for suddenly opening the hopper to permit the entire charge to l therefrom in theior-m ot a dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold carried by said supporting means.

lJApparatus of the class described comprising 'a hopper having a sliding bottom member and upwardly extending side walls of substantial hei ht, means for dropping a charge of material from such an elevation onto "the sliding bottom memb r of the hop per-as to compact the charge, means for sup porting a mold vertically below the hopper at such a distance that a charge falling from the hopper will acquire sufiicient momentum to cause it completely to fill men -r suddenly retracting bottom member to permit the entire charge to fall freely from the hopper into a mold carried by said supporting means.

Apparatus oi the class described com- )risi-g verti ally elongate hopper having fixed side walls and sliding bottom member, means for supporting a mold verthe hopper at such a distance charge supporting position, thereby to permit the entire charge to drop in the .ierm of a dense swarm ol. discrete particles into a mold box or ried by said supporting means, and means spaced a substantial distance ab the bottom member of the hopper for dropping material into the hopper to form a compact charge in the latter.

6. Apparatus of the class described comprising a hopper having a. movable bottom member. means for supporting a mold vertically below the hopper at such a distance from the hopper that a charge of material falling from the hopper will acquire sufih cientmomentum to cause it completely to till the mold means for dropping a charge of material, onto the bottom member of the hopper from a height substantially equal to one halt of the distance between the mold and the bottom member of the hopper, and means for moving the hottom member of the hopper to permit the entire charge to fall as a body from the latter in the form of a dense swarm of discrete particles.

7. Apparatus of the class described comprising a hopper having a movable bottonr means for supporting a mold vertically below the hopper at a distance therefrom oi the order of twe ve feet, means for dropping a charge of material onto the bottom of the hopper from a height of the order of six feet whereby to impact the charge, and means for suddenly aoving the bot m oi the hopper to permitthe entire charge to fall freely in the form of a dense swarm of discrete particles into the mold box.

8. Apparatus of the class described comprising a. hopper, means for delivering a charge to the hopper.v and means for supbottom member for supporting and guiding it,'an elongate rod rigidly attached to the outer end of the bottom member, means guiding the outer portion of said rod in a rectilinear path, and means for moving said rod whereby to move the sliding bottom member from its normal position thereby permitting the entire charge in the hopper to drop freely in the form of a dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold carried by the supporting means.

9. Apparatus of the class described comprising a hopper, means for delivering a charge to the hopper, and means for supporting a mold vertically below the hopper at such a distance that a charge falling from the" hopper will acquire sufficient momentum to cause it completely to fill the mold, said hopper having a movable bottom member, means guiding said bottom member to slide obliquely upward from its normal position, and fluid actuated means for moving the bottom member along said guide means whereby to withdraw said member from beneath a charge of, material resting thereon thereby permitting the entire charge in the hopper to drop freely in the form of a dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold carried by the supporting means.

10. Apparatus of the class described comprising a hopper, means for delivering a charge to the hopper, and means for supporting a mold vertically below the hopper at sucha distance that a charge falling from the hopper will acquire sufficient momentum to cause it completely to fill the mold, said hopper having a movable bottom member, antifriction guides for said bottom member, a fluid actuated piston connected to said bottom member, and means for admitting pressure fluid to act on said piston whereby suddenly to retract said bottom member from its normal charge supporting position thereby permitting the entire charge in the hopper to drop freely in the form of a dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold carried by the supporting means 11. Apparatus of the class described comprising a hopper, means for delivering a charge'to the hopper, and means for supporting a mold vertically below the hopper at such a distance that a charge falling from the hopper will acquire sufficient momentum to cause it completely to fill the mold, said hopper having an inclined sliding bottom member, roller guides for said' bottom mem her, a fluid motor comprising a cylinder and a piston sliding therein, rigid connections between the piston and said sliding bottom member, and power actuated means for admitting pressure fluid to the cylinder whereby to retract the bottom member- 'rom its normal charge supporting position thereby permitting the entire charge in the hopper to drop freely in the form of a' dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold'carried by the supporting means.

' 12, Apparatus of the class described comprising a hopper, means for delivering a charge to the hopper, and means for suporting a mold vertically below the hopper at such a distance that a charge falling from the hopper will acquire sufficient momentum to cause it completely to fill the mold, said hopper having fixed side walls and a plurality of relatively movable sliding members collectively constituting the bottom of the hopper, a pneumatic motor for moving each of said bottom members, a valve for admitting compressed air simultaneously to each motor, and a cam for operating the valve thereby permitting the entire charge in the hopper to drop freely in the form of a dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold carried by the supporting means.

18. Apparatus of the class described having a hopper, means for delivering a charge to the hopper, and means for supporting a mold vertically below the hopper at such a distance that a charge falling from the hopper will acquire sufficient momentum to cause it completely to fill the mold, said hopper comprising a plurality of inclined relatively movable members collectively constit-uting its bottom and normally disposed in charge supporting position, means guiding the several bottom members to move upwardly and outwardly whereby to permit the charge to fall from the hopper, a motor for actuating each of said movable bottom members, and means for simultaneously energizing each motor whereby to retract the several bot-tom members from charge supporting position thereby permitting the entire charge in the hopper to drop freely in the form of a dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold carried by the supporting means.

14. Apparatus of the class described com prising a hopper, means for delivering a charge to the hopper, and means for supporting a mold vertically below the hopper at such a distance that a charge falling from the hopper will acquire sufficientmomentum to cause it completely to fill the mold,

said hopper having a pair of oppositely inclined movable bottom members normally engaging each other at their lower ends, antifriction guides for said bottom members, a fluid motor for actuating each of said bottom members, each motor comprising a cylinder and a piston sliding in a path parallel to the plane of movement of its respective bottom member, rigid connections between each piston and the corresponding bottom member, and power actuated automatic means for simultaneously admit ting pressure fluid to the cylinders thereby ermitting the entire charge in the hopper to drop freely in the form of a dense swarm of discrete particles into a mold carried by the supporting means.

15. Apparatus of the class described comprising a hopper, means for delivering a charge to the hopper, and means for sup porting a mold vertically below the hopper at such distance that a charge falling from the hopper will acquire sufficient momentum to cause it completely to till the mold, said hopper having substantially vertical side walls, outwardly and upwardly inclined slidable bottom members normally meeting at their lower ends to form a closure for the lower end of the hopper, antifriction guides disposed above and below each of said bottom members for supporting and guiding them, a fluid motor for actuating each sliding bottom member, each motor having a cylinder and a piston, a piston rod for the piston, means guiding the piston rod in a rectilinear path, a yoke secured to the outer end of the piston rod, and a pair of connecting rods each rigidly connected at one end to the yoke and at its other end to the corresponding sliding bottom member, and a valve for admitting pressure fluid simul taneously to each of the several cylinders thereby permitting the entire charge in the hopper to drop "freely swarm of discrete particles into a mold carried by the supporting means.

Signed by me at Mount Union, Penna, this 16th day of November 1926.

ABIRAM A. OEFFNER.

in the form of a dense 

